Violence Against Women, A War Legacy In Bosnia & Herzegovina

Violence Against Women, A War Legacy In Bosnia
And Herzegovina – UN Special Rapporteur

SARAJEVO / GENEVA (5 November 2012) – United Nations
human rights expert Rashida Manjoo said that heightened
domestic violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina is linked in
many cases to the legacy of the war, and women and men
suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and other
war-related mental health problems as well as unemployment,
poverty or addiction.

“As the government strives to
assess and address the impact that the war had on men and
how to ensure they do not place women at a higher risk of
domestic violence, it should also recognize the experiences
that women themselves faced during the war, and their
entitlement to justice, reparations, and information and
assistance on the missing and the disappeared,” said the
UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women at the end
of her official mission* to the country.

“It is crucial
for government authorities at all levels to recognize the
existence of civilian women victims of rape and torture,
regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds, and to
ensure that they have equal access to remedies and services,
regardless of their physical location within the country,”
the expert stressed.

The Special Rapporteur urged the
government “to ensure that the specific forms of sexual
violence and the high prevalence rates experienced by women
are adequately taken into consideration when implementing
any initiatives to provide justice and effective remedies to
victims,” while acknowledging the need to recognize the
existence of male victims of war-time rape.

Ms. Manjoo
welcomed official initiatives to adopt a Transitional
Justice Strategy to ensure access to justice and reparation
for all civilian victims of war, including survivors of
sexual violence; a Law on the Rights of Victims of Torture
and Civilian Victims of War, to ensure access for civilian
victims of war to equal social benefits; and the development
of the Programme for Improvement of the Status of Survivors
of Conflict related Sexual Violence.

However, she noted,
“a very relevant fear shared by interviewed survivors of
war-time rape and torture is the fact that time continues to
pass by with no justice being served. It is crucial to speed
up efforts and achieve political solutions at State
level,” the rights expert noted.”

In her view,
transitional justice actions should ensure the public
acknowledgment and memorialization of women victims, their
access to compensation, including non-material damages, and
their empowerment. “This is particularly important
considering the country’s overall economic situation and
how unemployment and poverty impact all people but women
victims of violence in particular,” she underlined.

“I encourage the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina
to speedily finalize the adoption of these legislative and
programmatic initiatives, and call on the authorities of
both the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the
Republika Srpska to actively participate in their
implementation,” Ms. Manjoo said.

The Special
Rapporteur warned, nonetheless, that the success of such
initiatives is hampered by the high levels of fragmentation
in legislative standards and a lack of coherence among
implementing authorities, which often results in the
non-realization of women’s civil, political, social,
economic, and cultural rights, and the lack of effective
redress for women who have been victims of past and present
violence.

“The full realization of women’s
rights is impaired by the structure of the country’s
political institutions and the fact that no State level
authority has the jurisdiction to ensure the adequate
implementation of the international human rights obligations
adopted by the State,” she warned.

During her
eight-day mission, Ms. Manjoo met with representatives of
State level authorities; entity and cantonal level
authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
entity and municipal level authorities of the Republika
Srpska, as well as representatives of civil society
organisations, UN agencies, and the donor community,
including victims associations and service providers.

The
Special Rapporteur will present a report with her final
findings and recommendations the Human Rights Council in
June 2013.

Ms. Rashida Manjoo (South Africa) was
appointed Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its
causes and consequences in June 2009 by the UN Human Rights
Council. As Special Rapporteur, she is independent from any
government or organization and serves in her individual
capacity. Ms. Manjoo also holds a part-time position as a
Professor in the Department of Public Law of the University
of Cape Town. Learn more, visit: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/women/rapporteur/index.htm

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